Biodegradable trash bags lighten garbage load

So you’re recycling, good for you. But what are you doing with the rest of that garbage? If you’re putting it in a plastic garbage bag, you’re giving it a lifecycle of hundreds of years in a landfill before it breaks down.

Enter BioBags, garbage bags that are certified 100% biodegradable and 100% compostable. Under open air situations, these bags will breakdown in 8-14 months. (Air-locked landfills may take longer.)

Bio Bags come in a variety of sizes: tall kitchen bags, lawn and leaf bags, as well as nature waste toilet systems for campers. For pet owners, there are doggy waste pick-up bags. (Hooray -- an option to keep people from using a separate plastic bag every time they take Fido for a walk!) And cat owners can revel in using the BioBag cat pan liners, a great partner for those already using biodegradable pine litter -- now everything breaks down.

One caveat: Since I recycle so much, I don’t create as much regular garbage, which has allowed me to cutback on taking out the trash. When using BioBags for the kitchen trashcan, I have to be careful what I put in there and how long it sits. Anything wet or damp (such as tea bags or food scraps) will cause the bags to start to breakdown. Then when it’s lifted out of the bin, the bag may fall apart, prompting a mess and a reach for a second bag (which can get expensive and double-wrapping kinda defeats the purpose of using a BioBag in the first place).

One solution: Downsize the trash bin and take the trash out more often to combat the problem. Then save the larger container for the recycling -- one area where more is better.

With BioBag, you can take a little extra responsibility for those things you throw in the trash and save a load off the landfills by helping it breakdown faster. Because your waste really shouldn’t stay on the planet longer than you do!